Peace Is Overrated
by Cynical-realism
Summary: A Caroline Forbes multi chapter fan-fiction. The writers were cruel to her and I needed to set things right. This fic unfolds 150 years after Stefan's suicide. Caroline knocks on Stefans door in heaven, but she is not dead. She's there for help regarding Earthly matters.
1. Chapter 1

**PEACE IS OVERRATED; LIFE IS NOW**

 _A Caroline Forbes multi chapter fan-fiction. The writers were cruel to her and I needed to set things right._

 _This fic unfolds 150 years after Stefan's suicide._

 **CHAPTER 1 - Knocking on Heaven's Door**

"You sure you can't stay longer?" He asked sounding melancholy.

"Stefan! Look around, what do you see?" Lexi asked him sounding exasperated.

"Umm bad Pictionary players?" Stefan replied as the rest of the gang in the house resumed play.

"We are at peace." She reminded him.

"I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes. I recognize the lack of constant self-loathing and guilt eating at me. Its peaceful!"

"Then why are you still brooding?" She asked as she grabbed her coat.

"I'm not brooding" He brushed her aside.

Lexi shook her head "I'll see you, when I see you" She said as she went towards the door.

"See ya" He said as she shut the door behind her.

He decided a drink was in order. A knock on the door came just as he took the first sip. He abandoned his glass to open the door and mock his best friend for trying to leave.

"I knew you couldn't stay away" He said gleefully as he opened the door expecting to find his blonde best friend.

"Hi" She said. Different blonde; more than just a best friend.

He stood there transfixed. Heart in his mouth. Emotions he hadn't felt in 150 years rushing through him threatening to devour him whole. There she was. Just like he had always remembered her. Beautiful. Radiant. Smiling. Perfect.

"Caroline" He finally mouthed as tears blurred his vision. She was here. Damon must have given her the cure he figured. He always refused to talk about Caroline. His heart leapt at the thought of being by her side forever. He lunged forward to embrace her.

"I'm not dead!" She declared blocking his embrace.

"Caroline?" he heard Damon call out to her lovingly.

"Damon" She said smiling warmly. It sent a jolt of jealousy down his entire being. He stood there, mouth agape as the two embraced lovingly, like two lost family members.

"Did you?"

"Not dead" Caroline told him breaking the hug.

"umm… then how are you here?" Damon asked.

"Its complicated. I don't have much time. I need some things."

"Like?"

"Like Bonnie Bennett for starters. Any idea where I can find her?"

"Right here", Bonnie said lining up behind Damon.

"Can I get a hug after her?" Elena asked as she wiped away tears.

"Oh great, yeah sure, go ahead, not like she's my wife who I haven't seen for 150 years or anything", Stefan blurted out.

The room went silent.

"My room at the boarding house, its… intact right? The way I wanted it?" Damon asked breaking the silence.

"You're dead. Who cares" Caroline said making sure Damon couldn't see her impish grin.

"What diff- you didn't just say that Blondie ! That room-"

He was cut off by three voices chanting in unison " Is the very essence of me and it has to be preserved for all time", Bonnie, Caroline and Elena burst out laughing at that.

"Seriously though. My room?" Damon persisted, hands on his hips, looking serious as a heart attack.

"Your room is well preserved. I made sure of that" Caroline said lovingly.

And all this while Stefan stood there and stared enviously at the group. At the inside joke he would never be part of, catching a rare glimpse of the life he had left behind when he had decided to sacrifice himself; Reduced to a stranger midst his wife, his brother and their people. Regret gnawed at him at that moment.

"You said you didn't have much time?" Bonnie asked cutting to the chase.

"I don't" She sounded tired.

"What do you need?"

"Blood. Yours, your gram's and one more Bennett witch's"

"On it", Bonnie said bolting out the door.

"What else?" Damon asked.

"A shovel?"

"Follow me" Damon said walking out of the house.

Caroline looked at Stefan before heading behind Damon. "I'm glad you found it" She said giving him a forlorn smile.

"Found what?" Stefan asked, his heart aching to hold her in his arms.

"Peace" Her voice cracked.

"Caroline-" He said moving towards her.

"I should go. I don't know how much time I have and I cant fail… not this time.." She said wiping away tears and running off the find Damon.

"Wait" Stefan begged.

"There you go" He saw Damon hand her a shovel.

"What are we doing with the shovel?" Stefan asked.

"I need dirt.. from.. " She unfolded a map and pointed at the little demarcation.

"Okay" Stefan nodded.

"Stefan, you don't have to"

"I don't have to what?"

"I can do this by myself." She said folding the map.

"Well, you keep saying you don't have much time and I, happen to know a shortcut" He said fondly as he offered her both his hands.

She took them. Only one out of three rings he had given her during life adorned her fingers "Hold on" He said trying not to let it get to him.

"Hold on why? wha-?" She stopped abruptly as the surroundings transformed almost immediately.

"How did you do that?" She asked bewildered.

"Wouldn't be very peaceful if it took us forever to get to places." He said trying to catch some emotion from her countenance all the while concealing that he was all but falling apart. Anything.

"Thank you" She said as she turned her back to him and started digging. His heart sank. She hates him he figured. Did he blame her?

His mind wandered to simpler times. Particularly to when tall trees and fallen leaves bore witness to two best friends in love, masking their true feelings for the others benefit and falling in love deeper still. So simple in fact that a tattered old teddy-bear and him were all it took to make her laugh through the pain.

"Caroline? He asked his voice giving away. The ground shook slightly.

"You shouldn't be here", Caroline said, panic ringing clear in her voice.

"What?"

"I'm upsetting your peace"

"No kidding. You wont even look me in the eye, let alone let me give you a hug,"

"Stefan, listen to me"

"You're my wife!" He said as he felt the ground move again.

" _Widow_! I'm your widow, there's a difference"

"I miss you, Caroline. I didn't know just how much until right now. At least tell me you're ok?" He said tears forming again. The ground shook harder causing them to topple over.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked as the ground stopped moving around him.

"You are feeling too much"

"What?"

"You need to go back. Send Damon here. He can help me" She said hastily as she picked herself up.

"Why Damon?" The ground rumbled.

"Because I wont affect Damon like I'm affecting you. I'm not supposed to be here Stefan. I'm breaking the rules of this world and it will spit me out if I disturb it too much."

"How am I supposed to just-"

"You won't remember any of this" Caroline said softly.

"What?"

"You'll go to bed, wake up and this encounter would have been erased"

"Why? What makes you so-"

"Because I'm not meant to be here. Not like this. Not now. When I leave, this world will work to fix what I upset. In this case, you."

His heart sank like an anvil in the ocean at the thought of not remembering this.

"I don't want to forget this" He mumbled.

"You don't have a choice in the matter" she said sadly.

"Just.. . tell me you're happy" He said resigned to leaving her again.

"I'm happy." She said smiling softly.

He studied her expression. There was an unnerving sadness in her eyes. "Car-"

"I promise. I'm happy, generally."

"Generally?'

"Well things are. . .chaotic now, at this present moment, but…"

"But you're happy otherwise?"

She nodded.

He closed the gap between them to wrap her in his arms; she didn't resist this time. He held her tight and wept silently as he realized he wouldn't remember this moment. She broke the hug. Tears stained her porcelain skin.

"How much do you hate me for all the tears I gave you?" He asked wiping her cheek slowly with his thumb. "Be honest. I wont remember it anyway right?"

"I don't hate you. I never could. And I never will", she said as fresh tears rolled down her flushed cheeks.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I wish things were different", He said as he touched his forehead to hers.

"This is the path you chose. This is the path you have to keep. Whether you like it or not" She said steadying her breath and stepping away from him.

"Will I see you before you leave?" He asked. Her shape blurred as his grief took over.

"No" She replied somberly.

"So no goodbye?"

"Goodbyes were never our thing"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He waited by Bonnie's front steps for her return.

"Bonnie" He got up just as he saw her.

"Waiting long?" She asked.

"Did you see Caroline?"

"I did". Bonnie said, walking in the house.

"And?"

"And she should be on her way back soon. She just wants to see her mom first."

"Bonnie?"

"She'll be okay Stefan. She's a big girl. She can handle herself"

Stefan nodded.

"I know this is a long shot. But I have to ask. Is there any way I could, I donno, get a ride back with her?"

Bonnie's eye brows furrowed.

"What?" He asked.

"Stefan.. why would you ask this?", Bonnie asked looking at him incredulously.

Stefan sighed, shook his head and slumped into the armrest of Bonnie's couch. "I did right by everyone. I did right by my brother and made sure he lived. He got the chance to marry the woman he loved, to have kids, grow old and live a full life. I did right by you. I paid the ultimate prize for killing Enzo. I did right by the world by putting Katherine away for good. But Caroline?" His eyes filled up. "I widowed her on our wedding night. I couldn't give her _a day_ of happiness. I did not do right by her."

"It was 150 years ago."

"Yeah I know. And here she is, in trouble and I'm supposed to just wish her luck and let her go? Apparently I wont even remember seeing her. "

"You wouldn't be at peace if you were worried about Caroline" Bonnie nodded.

"Well, I don't want to forget this. And I don't want to let her go again. And I've been around enough supernatural to guess that if she can come in here and leave, then the loophole might just let me leave with her?" He asked, eyebrows raised in anticipation.

"She's linked to a stone that allows her safe passage. If you link your spirit with hers temporarily, you can go back to the land of the living with her."

Stefan's eyes shot up just as he sprang up from his seat.

"Ok so how do I link my spirit to hers?" He said smiling.

"Stefan, you know what you would be giving up right? Eternal peace! And for what? She's taken the rings off, which means its quite possible that you are not who she needs right now. Are you really willing to give up this afterlife and possibly run the risk of not being able to get back up here, for-"

"A chance to see her smile again? To maybe make sure she does? Even if the smile isn't directed towards me?" He asked. "I know there are no guarantees. But yes, I'd give up everlasting peace for half a chance to make things right with her. Or at least make things right _for_ her. "

"You're sure?" Bonnie asked again.

"Yes!"

"Okay then.." Bonnie fished out a vial of blood. "Its Caroline's. Grams spelled it. Drink it. It'll link your spirit to hers and when she's yanked out of here, so will you. I had taken it just in case Enzo wanted to give life another shot… he didn't.. so.."

"Thank you" Stefan said gulping it down. "Tell Damon not to wait up" He beamed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Got everything you need?" Damon asked Caroline.

"Yup. Thank you for everything" Caroline said graciously.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked.

"Umm.. no pretty sure I got everything" Caroline replied looking over to her supplies that she had gathered in her short time up in "heaven".

"You should say goodbye", Damon told her softly.

"I can't." She said tearing up. "You know, I didn't think I would feel so much after 150 years. . .but seeing him." She breathed out, trying to contain herself from completely breaking down.

"Well you guys never really got closure.. so maybe goodbye is what you need. Do it for you"

"He died. Well, he chose to die. That's all the closure I need"

Damon nodded. During his human lifetime Caroline was the family he always could count on. By the time he breathed his last, she had become his favorite person.

He had given her the cure before he died. Why waste it. But he made her promise that she wouldn't take it out of self-pity or because she didn't think she could be happy.

" _Peace is overrated, Caroline", He had told her that day. "Life is now"_

" _How would you know? You haven't experienced peace", She said making light of the conversation._

" _I just do. The cure? Its not me aiding and abetting suicide. Don't ever make it so. You can't use this to give up on living, for whatever reason. This is me giving you an option. If ever immortality becomes stale and cumbersome and you have experienced all there is. . and maybe a thousand, two thousand years from now if you crave a human existence; this is for then. Not now. Not for the near future. And definitely not because you cant be happy without him. You're Caroline Forbes. You're not a quitter."_

 _She had smiled ruefully at that. "When did you get so wise?" She had asked, looking away._

 _That had been his cue to berate himself one last time before he died, "It should have been me"_

 _She shook her head softly._

" _When you find peace and see him again, know that I'm here saying I told you so" She had joked._

 _He had let out a short laugh at that and breathed his last._

 _. . . . ._

"Promise that you'll be okay?" Damon asked.

"I promise"

He nodded. "Bye Blondie"

"Bye Damon. And hey, I told you so" She beamed.

He chuckled and she disappeared.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He woke up in a daze. There were voices he didn't recognize. They were calling out to Caroline.

He squinted as he readjusted to the light. He was indoors. Felt like he had been there before.

"Caroline?" He heard a worried voice. A familiar worried voice he just couldn't place.

A groan.

"Here", The hazy figure gave her a blood bag.

"That was rough" She exclaimed.

"Can you get up?" The familiar voice asked.

"Yeah…" He watched as he stood her up.

"Caroline?"

She didn't hear him. She was staring at her long lost past come to life.

Stefan got up. "Hey"

Caroline stood there, mouth agape.

"I'm guessing this wasn't the plan?" The guy beside her said clearly unimpressed with Stefan's presence. He finally recognized him. An old friend, someone he never thought he'd see again.

"Caleb" Stefan greeted him.

"Stefan" He returned his greeting and wrapped his hand around Caroline's waist.

"I don't feel so good" Caroline said, blood oozing out of her nose a she collapsed on the floor.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be continued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


	2. Chapter 2 Who Knew

**PEACE IS OVERRATED; LIFE IS NOW**

 **Chapter 2 – Who Knew**

 _A/N:_ _Title based on the Pink song "Who Knew"._

 _I split this chapter into two because it became way too long. So this might feel incomplete, and that's because it kind of is, but it'll all come together when you read chapter 3, so bear with me._

 _And yes, chapter 2 and 3 are being updated together._

 _ **20 years to the day**_

 _It had been decades since she last stepped foot in the Armory's compound. Not that she was a regular fixture there when it was up and running. The Armory was always Ric's place; the Boarding School hers. After he retired, no one came forward to run the establishment. He had hoped his daughters would, but the paths they chose didn't lead them here. She maintained it for a while hoping someone would step up. No one ever did, until now when it had fallen into utter disrepair._

 _She didn't go in. She just stood there at its threshold; as memories she had pushed back to the far recesses of her mind fought valiantly to claw its way back to the surface._

 _To the naked eye, a lone figure amidst a towering ruin. But she was not alone. She was never alone. Grief, her constant companion stood beside her. For decades now Grief never left her, proving to be a most faithful entity. One she never asked for, but one she could never shake. Grief was there when she woke, held her when she slept and walked with her as she went about her day._

 _She let out an audible sigh as she mustered the strength to open the building's main door._

" _Lost your set of keys?" A good-humored voice came from behind her. She turned around to see brown eyes staring back at her, brown eyes with a tinge of imp in them. "Good news is that those doors look like they are one breeze away from coming off altogether"_

 _He didn't wait for her to respond, "Or it could be bad news, depending on how much you treasure those doors" He said letting out an awkward short laugh._

 _She continued to stare at the happy stranger, unsure as to how to respond._

" _I'm Caleb, by the way. Caleb Jefferson the third if we are going into specifics" He said holding his hand out. "You must be Caroline Forbes"_

" _Yes. Hi" She said shaking his hand and feeling remarkable obtuse. Its like human interaction was lost on her. Her friend Grief was probably to blame._

" _Shall we?" Caleb asked indicating that they go inside._

" _Yes. Umm.. this way"_

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 **The Armory – Present Day**

"Caroline!" Stefan rushed to her side and he watched Caleb cradle her in his arms.

Her extremities began to grey as panic rose within him.

"Maya?" Caleb beckoned helplessly as a red head took her hand in hers.

The room rang deathly silent as all eyes remained on the witch. Caroline's skin returned back to normal after a time.

"Piggyback riding back to life is risky, stranger", Maya addressed Stefan in an icy tone. His eyes strayed back to the love of his life.

"Is she going to be okay?" Stefan asked as Caleb too looked to Mila, his eyes asking the same question.

"She'll be fine. Let her rest"

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 _Their footsteps echoed within the dilapidated walls of the Armory building. She scoffed inwardly as she looked around what could be best described as rubble. If an artist were to put to canvas a description of her heart, this would be it. Forlorn, abandoned, run down, four walls barely holding up a dying building, with a gaping hole for a roof and so dark that even the stars refused to come out from behind their dark shroud._

" _This is great!" Caleb's excited voice echoed through the wreckage._

" _Huh?"_

" _I mean, yeah it needs work. A LOT of work. But when its done, its going to be GREAT!" He beamed._

 _She stared up at the sky that shouldn't have been visible from the inside. She remembered a time when she was the one to look at the world through rose tinted glasses. Now all she saw was a hole in the ceiling._

" _We can fix that you know!" Caleb said as he caught her looking up. "That's the easy part."_

" _Yeah? What's the difficult part?"_

" _The walls" He said looking around._

" _I don't follow"_

" _Breaking them down without collapsing the building." He said seriously._

" _Excuse me?" She said feeling a tug at her heart._

" _hmmm?"_

" _You said you wanted to restore the place not raze its walls to the ground" She said, her voice growing shriller with each syllable._

" _Well restore is a," he made a floundering action with his hand._

" _Is a what? I don't speak this language" She said comically imitating his action._

 _He laughed out loud at that. She continued to stare him down._

" _When I said restore I meant it loosely. I meant it more like bring the place up to its potential. Which right now means tearing some of her walls down"_

" _Her walls" Caroline said motioning to the walls surrounding them, "Are fine."_

" _These walls cannot accommodate more than its already housing."_

" _So?"_

" _So that's a problem."_

" _Well, I don't give you permission to bring them down" she said adamantly._

" _I imagine this place holds a few memories?" He asked softly._

 _Caroline didn't hear him. She stared at the spot where her dead husband had proposed for the second time. In fact, as fate would have it, she was standing exactly where she stood that day when she had heard his knock on the door._

" _Hey", he grazed her arm. "You okay?"_

 _She sighed. "Look, I know I haven't been the best caretaker. Not even close. But this is important to me. It's the last of the things I need to take care of before I can… move on"_

" _Move on?" he asked. "You mean die?" he scoffed almost._

" _What?" That brought her crashing back from n emotional trip down memory lane._

" _I'm guessing this is your first turn of the century? Everyone you have ever loved or known are probably dead by now and you, are having one hell of an existential crisis"_

" _That is not your concern" She said fuming._

" _You're right. It's not. But this place is. I have five warehouses full of magical artifacts and books and things I cannot perceive that will fall into ruin, much like this building, if its not housed properly. And, I don't know whether you noticed, but the last supernatural war took out the original vampires-"_

" _I know, I heard about the war and its casualties." She cut him off._

" _Which is why we need this safe house. It's the only thing ensuring our survival to the next century. Whether you plan on being alive for it or not"_

 _She looked pensive._

" _Look-" He started again to try put things in perspective._

" _I get it!" She snapped. "Big picture and all that" She said begrudgingly._

" _So do I have permission to do as I please?"_

" _She's all yours" She said handing him the key and turning around to walk away._

" _Wait!" He called out after her. "Why don't you stay? Help out? I really could use the help, plus I'm not too good with paint and well, interiors in general and I have a feeling you would be better at it" he asked sincerely._

" _I don't know anything about construction" Caroline replied skeptically. "I would probably just be in your way, slow you down. Probably take you forever to get to the interiors with me around"_

" _So?" He asked smiling as he shoved his hands in his pocket. "I got forever. And so do you, technically"_

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 **Present Day**

Caleb laid her down gently on their bed, placed the blanket over her and sat beside her

"I didn't know" Stefan said from the doorway.

"Yeah I know", Caleb said calmly. "She'll be fine. You heard Maya, she'll wake up in a few hours"

Stefan tried to calm his poor human heart. Surely it would give away if it kept beating this fast.

"You seem pretty calm for a guy whose vampire girlfriend collapsed out of supernatural exhaustion" He told Caleb who wouldn't take his eyes off Caroline. It bothered him to say the least.

Caleb didn't acknowledge his words.

"How long have you guys been together?" He asked.

"Why'd you do it?" He asked looking him in the eye; ignoring Stefan's question.

Stefan looked down, "You probably think I'm being selfish"

"Yeah the thought did cross my mind"

"You would have done the same thing had you been in my shoes" He accused him.

"No. I would have let her go knowing she's happy without me"

Stefan gulped the lump in his throat. She really did mean it when she said she was happy. He knew Caleb. He was a good guy and he really did seem to love her.

"You should maybe let her rest." Caleb suggested.

Stefan agreed.

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 _ **9 months in since the first time Caroline and Caleb met**_

" _You're late" He said over the construction noise as he heard her walk in._

" _I had an errand to run" Caroline chirped._

 _He looked up to see her holding what looked like brand new headgear._

" _That's new." He said pointing to her crew helmet._

 _She beamed._

" _A rather jarring shade of pink wouldn't you say?" He said comically rubbing his eyes. "It's alright, don't apologize, my vampire vision will return soon," He mocked her. "Might take a few days to see color again though"_

 _She stuck her tongue out at him. "It's cute." She declared as she put it on._

 _He shook her head. The gear was atrocious. But the head it adorned was precious. So were the golden locks that hung around the ugly color. And the being who the locks belonged to? She was really something else._

" _Nice hat Caroline!" One of his construction workers said smiling._

" _Thank you Ben!" She said a flashed Caleb a smug smile._

 _She had certainly come a long way from the depressed soul that he had met six months ago. There were days when her light shone so bright she was a whole other person. But most days he could see it – the ghosts of her past haunting her steps._

" _What?" Caroline asked; probably at the way he was staring at her right then._

" _That hat is an abomination." He said looking away._

 _Caroline scowled and sat down facing the doorway._

" _I was thinking," She began._

" _The walls are coming down Caroline!" He said sternly. He had lost track of the number of times they had had the same damn discussion. She certainly didn't give up easily._

" _Fine" She said. There was finality in the way she said it._

 _She sighed, eyes still fixed at the threshold._

" _What are you thinking?" He asked after she went quiet for an unusually long period of time._

" _You remember back when we first met and you implied that I would maybe kill myself?"_

" _What about it?" Caleb asked as he continued to look at his blue print._

" _I would never do that." She said._

" _Mmmhhmmmm"_

" _You don't believe me?" She asked_

" _I didn't say that" He said casually._

 _Well, I'm not a quitter, so." She sounded offended almost._

" _hhmmmmm"_

" _What hmmmm?"_

" _What's so special about the doorway?" He asked._

 _She looked at him curiously. "What's that gotta do with anything?"_

" _You always stare at it, like you expect someone to walk in any minute and save you from yourself"_

" _Promises were made by that doorway" She said vaguely._

" _By the husband you survived I presume?" He asked_

 _She gave him a small forlorn smile._

" _Who was he?"_

 _She turned around to look at him. This was the first time he had really pried into her personal life. Sure, he knew about her kids and Ric, the guy who ran this place, a witchy best friend named Bonnie, who was also dead. But she kept the details pertaining to the wedding band on her finger close to her heart and never parted with them._

" _Oh come on, we have been over almost every significant detail of my life, is it crazy that I want to know about your dead husband?" He asked._

" _Fine" She said reluctantly, "His name was Stefan Salvatore-"_

" _Stefan Salvatore? Green eyes, dark hair, burdened soul? Had a douche for a brother who he thought the world of?" He cut her off._

" _You knew him?"_

" _Stefan? Yes. The brother? No. Damien was it?" He asked trying his best to remember the name._

" _Damon." Caroline corrected him. "And yeah he was a douche. But he died a good man" She said kindly._

 _Caleb rubbed his hands over his face and sighed._

" _You married Stefan Salvatore!" He remarked in utter surprise. "Last I saw him he was headed home, wherever that was, to pay his respects at his mothers grave. Never heard from him since."_

" _Mystic Falls. He came home to Mystic Falls and stayed," Caroline informed him._

" _Stayed for you?" He asked._

" _Hardly!" Caroline said._

" _Well?"_

" _It's a really really long story. Would probably take up the whole day and then some" She said dismissively,_

" _Okay", He nodded._

" _GUYS!" He yelled to grab the attention of his construction crew "Take the rest of the day off, don't worry, you will all get full pay! I'll see you guys tomorrow!"_

" _What are you doing?" Caroline asked bewildered._

" _Clearing my day."_

" _You do realize there's no happy ending to this story right?" She asked incredulously._

" _Yeah I know. I got Bourbon stashed in my car to help with that"_

 _. . . . . ._

 _They sat with their backs to the wall, side by side, shoulders touching, each sipping at their own bottle of bourbon._

" _Wow! Stefan Salvatore actually found –the one!" Caleb said incredulously._

" _Huh?"_

" _He had mentioned it once or twice. I thought it was stupid, this notion that there's just one person in the whole world that you are meant to love and be loved by in return. But I guess you were it for him"_

" _Was I?" she asked skeptically. He wasn't sure if it was her or the liquor talking._

" _What do you mean? He married you!"_

" _Yeah and decided to die on our wedding day!" She practically yelled. "Why would he do that if he had been searching for me his whole damn vampire life? Why would he throw it all away?" She shook her head and took a long sip. "Maybe if he had found the one he wouldn't have let himself die" She said a tear rolling down her flushed cheeks._

" _That's just a century of grief talking, more than a century. There is no truth to it, so don't you ever try to believe it."_

 _She sighed._

" _Listen to me," He said taking her hand in hers, " when I met Stefan he was going through a pretty terrific guilt spiral, the likes of which I haven't seen before or since. I was working as a paramedic at the time and I convinced him to give it a shot, to help him work through the guilt. To show him that he can make up for the bad by doing Good. And he did."_

 _She turned to look at him. She looked so lost._

" _Stefan was a great guy. He had the heart of a hero, but he was also very damaged. Him dying, that wasn't about you. That was him convinced that he wasn't worth it." He said sincerely._

" _Well maybe if-"_

" _No," Caleb cut him off. "There is only so much you can do to help. There's only so much anyone can do."_

 _Caroline looked away and stared ahead._

" _Let him go" Caleb begged._

" _What?"_

 _He shook his head and moved to face her. "You wanna know the secret to living an immortal life? It has nothing to do with controlling your vampirism like you think."_

 _Caroline's forehead creased in concentration._

" _You need to learn to let people go. Know that people enter your immortal life temporarily. They live their life, die and find peace. And when their time is done, you need to move on, or live your life burdened with their loss. You think you can handle it, but you can't. I have lived for over 700 years and I have seen vampires struggle and lose their struggle. I can always spot the signs of an immortal that's not going to survive." He said looking at her woefully._

 _Caroline looked down at her wedding band._

" _Just like I know that wedding band has gotten heavier over the past few decades."_

 _Caroline's eyes shot up at that. He knew he had hit the nail right on the head._

" _Stefan never said anything about-"_

" _Stefan never had to live with the knowledge that every family member was dead." Caleb said gently. "No matter who he lost along the way, his brother was out there, alive. A consolation most of us immortals don't have."_

" _If you don't let him go, you'll reach a point where you won't be able to go on anymore and like countless before you, you'll take off your ring in utter desperation and let the sun consume you."_

 _Caroline stared at him, tears marring her blue orbs._

" _And that would be a real shame" He said as he wiped the tear drops that trickled down the rim of her eyes._

" _For whom? All my friends and immediate family are dead already." She asked, her voice laced with resignation._

" _For the world, for the hundreds, maybe thousands of people your life would have touched had you lived forever?" He said taking her hand and leaning back against the wall again._

" _They can't miss what they never had." She said somberly._

" _I'd miss you" He said, his voice coarse with desperation._

" _You'll live" She said placing her head on his shoulders._

" _He's at peace. Haven't you suffered enough? Is it such a bad thing to choose to be happy?"_

" _I don't think I know how to let him go", She said squeezing his hand and closing her eyes and willing the tears to stop._

" _Try ." He said resting his head on hers._

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 **Present Day**

He dove into her subconscious as soon as Stefan left the room.

"You're okay," He told her the moment he saw her.

"And Stefan?" She asked without skipping a beat.

Caleb didn't say anything.

"Caleb, he just came back to life after 150 years of being dead." She said. "He's probably freaking out"

"Or maybe he's not" He shrugged not making eye contact.

Caroline folded her arms across her chest, a sure sign that she was beginning to get worked up.

"He's not a child. I'm sure he's fine", Caleb said petulantly.

"I know this is not what you expected. I didn't think this would happen, or could happen even"

"If you knew, would you have wanted this?" Caleb asked softly.

"No, of course not." Caroline said firmly. "He had found peace. I wouldn't have asked him to give that up for anything"

Caleb nodded. He moved to slip his hands around her waist. "Don't worry about a thing. Just, gather your strength and come back to me."

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ _ **. To Be Continued**_ _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._


	3. Chapter 3 Breakaway

**PEACE IS OVERRATED; LIFE IS NOW**

 **Chapter 3 – Breakaway**

 _ **20 years ago**_

" _Okay I'm ready" Caroline declared, poised to swing the sledgehammer in her hand._

" _Finally!" Caleb sounded exhausted._

" _Don't do that!" Caroline said sounding irate._

" _What?" Caleb retorted._

" _This is just a stupid building to you. But to me?" She dropped the sledgehammer and pointed to a nearly wall, "See this wall, my kids drew on it and was grounded for two whole weeks. No video games, no chocolate, no magic"_

" _Caroline-"_

" _And this wall here, Josie broke her tooth here and that doorway… well.."_

" _I know. I'm sorry. I did not mean to minimize your struggle"_

 _Caroline sighed and looked away._

" _We can do this another day if you-"_

" _No. Lets just.. rip off the band-aid"_

" _Okay" He said somberly as he walked over to pick up his sledgehammer._

" _So-" He started only to be cut off by Caroline slamming her sledgehammer into the wall beside her._

" _Wait, no, stop!" He yelled as he saw the hole in the wall; in the wrong wall._

" _That kinda felt good", She said oblivious to Caleb yelling and hit the wall again, making the hole bigger than before._

" _OH MY GOD! STOP!" He yelled and stood between her and the wall._

" _What? Why?" She asked sounding intoxicated._

" _BECAUSE YOU'RE BREAKING DOWN THE WRONG WALL!" He screamed sounding crazed._

" _No, I checked the plan" Caroline said pointing at the paper on the table behind her._

 _Caleb moved to the table and flipped the plan over, "You were looking at it the wrong way" He said rubbing his temple._

" _Oh!" Caroline exclaimed and burst out in giggles._

" _I need to sit down" Caleb said grabbing a chair._

 _He heard another crash just as soon as he sat down._

" _OH MY GOD CAROLINE, STOP!"_

" _What? It's broken anyway! Lets bring down this wall instead!"_

" _IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!" He said marching up to her and grabbing her sledgehammer. "You are no longer allowed to use this"_

" _You're being-"_

" _I'M BEING PERFECTLY REASONABLE AND YOU NEED TO STEP AWAY FROM THE HEAVY EQUIPMENT!"_

" _Ok fine, I'm sorry. We'll just.. I donno.. turn this into a window" she said trying to salvage the situation._

 _Caleb didn't look impressed. "I'm going to lose my mind," He muttered_

" _What?" Caroline asked referring to his exasperated expression._

" _And become a crazy person just like you" He continued to mutter like he had come unhinged._

" _CAAALEB" Caroline beckoned her attention to her idea of converting the hole into a window._

 _Caleb peered in the hole in the wall._

" _Caroline?"_

" _hmmm"_

" _Windows are supposed to look to the outside." He said grimly._

 _Caroline looked through the hole in the wall to see another room._

" _Not all windows have to look out" Caroline suggested._

" _Yeah they kinda do"_

" _Well our_ _ **eyes**_ _are windows to our SOULS so that's basically looking inward rather than outward"_

" _You lost me!"_

" _So this window is like looking inside into the soul of the building"_

" _Buildings don't have souls" He said, gritting his teeth._

" _Well.. this one could"_

 _Caleb looked at her like she was a crazy person. He then looked in the hole again. "Ugly soul" He cringed looking at the debris._

 _Caroline burst out laughing._

" _I'm never doing construction with you" Caleb said still as if in a daze. Caroline continued to laugh._

" _Stop laughing. This is a disaster! Window to the soul my ass"_

 _Caroline doubled over laughing._

" _Incidentally my ass looks way better than this_ _ **soul.**_ _" He said looking at the area the hole in the wall showcased._

" _A baboon's ass looks better than that" She said still laughing._

 _That got Caleb cracking up._

" _We'll fix it up," Caroline said piping down._

" _My ass?"_

" _No, the soul"_

 _Caleb shook his head._

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

He didn't know where to go. New place, new century and the only person he wanted to see was unconscious and probably didn't even want him around.

"Hey!" He heard a voice greet him. He recognized her - Maya the witch who helped Caroline.

"Hi, I was just uh.."

"Would you like a tour?" She asked sweetly.

"I don't want to be a bother," He said hesitantly.

"You wont. Sorry I was cold before. I didn't recognize you in the chaos."

Stefan frowned. Why would she recognize him? He was dead for a century and a half. Maya seemed to have picked up on his confusion.

"I grew up in the Salvatore Boarding School. There's a portrait of you and your brother in the study. That was your home wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Is that how you know Caroline?" Stefan enquired. Finally something familiar he could converse about.

"Oh, no. Caroline had moved on from the place long before I went there." Maya informed him, "I tracked her down years later and joined her here" She explained. "Sorry this must be really weird for you." She added apologetically.

Stefan gave her a tight-lipped smile. He had just come back to life after 150 years of being dead. His wife had moved on was dating his old long lost friend and he was still madly in love with her. Weird didn't begin to describe what he was feeling.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 _ **10 Years Ago**_

" _Hello? Anybody home?" Maya called out to no one in particular._

" _Hi." Caroline emerged, Caleb following right behind her. "We are not up and running yet.." She said._

" _Yeah I know, I uh.. I was hoping to give you a lending hand, help you set up and run the place maybe? If that's alright with you?"_

" _oh..uh.." Caroline was taken aback._

" _I'm Maya, I went to the school you had set up. It changed my life. I honestly wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that school" She said smiling gratefully. "I'd really like to help in any way I can"_

" _And we would greatly appreciate the help" Caleb said, "I'm Caleb. I really hope you like cataloging!"_

" _Because he doesn't" Caroline quipped in "Welcome to the Armory," Caroline continued cheerfully, "The living quarters are that way. Pick any room you like"_

" _Thanks. This place is quite remarkable" Maya said in awe._

 _Caleb smiled smugly at Caroline, who rolled her eyes at him._

" _Is that the original doorway?" She asked pointing to the entrance._

" _Yeah.. we..kept it." Caleb told her._

" _Good choice, it gives the place great character"_

 _It was Caroline's turn to smile smugly at Caleb as he rolled her eyes at her._

" _Would you like a tour?" Caroline asked sounding chipper._

" _Yes please!"_

" _Follow me"_

 _Caleb followed the two as they went from room to room marveling the restoration and the architecture._

" _That's weird" Maya said pointing to Caroline's "accidental" window. "This window opens to another room" She said sounding confused._

" _It's a metaphorical window to the soul"_

" _I don't get it"_

 _Nobody gets it, Caleb thought to himself._

" _You know how your eyes are a window to your soul - the saying?"_

" _uhuh"_

" _Well, this is a window that opens up to the soul of the building"_

 _Caleb rubbed his eyes in embarrassment._

" _New concept?" Maya asked still confused._

" _Very," Caroline said smiling awkwardly._

" _Where's it borrowed from?" Maya asked inquisitively._

" _Europe?" Caroline said digging herself deeper into a hole._

" _Which part? I was there for a few months and I didn't really come across anything like this"_

" _Well.. its more like… Australia.. have you eh. . been to Australia?"_

" _Oh no I haven't"_

" _Well there you go. Soul windows are big there.. down under…in some, small architectural communities.." She rambled._

" _Hmmmm. You learn something new everyday" She said still sounding skeptical. "You know I think I'll go find a room and freshen up"_

" _Great! We'll be.. around.." Caroline replied as Maya wandered off to find a room for herself._

" _Wow!" Caleb said shaking his head slowly as if in a daze. "That's by far the most embarrassing thing I've witnessed in 700 years"_

" _You could have helped you know" Caroline scowled._

" _OH no! You will never catch me repeating any of that, not even under pain of death!"_

" _If you just-"_

" _This window soul shit isn't working Care and you sound crazy trying to sell it!" Caleb said honestly._

" _I do not!"_

" _Oh yes you do!" He declared. "Throw in that wedding band and you are certifiable!" He muttered._

" _What's my wedding band gotta do with anything? I wear the wedding band because I'm married" Caroline said offended that he would bring it up._

" _You're not married!" He blurted out. "You're widowed. There's a difference. You have been widowed for nearly a hundred and fifty years and that band is you refusing to live your life"_

" _How would you know, you've never been married" She yelled._

" _Neither have you" He snapped_

" _I distinctly remember getting married" She fumed._

" _You had a wedding. That's not a marriage. You live a marriage, which you never got a chance to. Holding on to what could have been is not going to change that. And making a window out to be something its not is not going to make it special." Caleb said walking away._

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

"Getting the grand tour in I see" Caleb said as he came across Stefan and Maya.

"Almost done!" Maya said beaming. He was grateful she had taken him out of his hands for a little while. Entertaining his girl friend's dead husband come to life wasn't how he had planned to spend the evening.

"Alondra is looking for you, by the way," Caleb informed Maya.

"She's back?"

Caleb nodded gravely. The mood suddenly changed and there was tension in the air.

"You should go," Caleb told her.

"I'll see you around Stefan" Maya waved as she walked away.

"Why aren't you avoiding me?" Stefan asked confused as he continued to look around.

Caleb shoved his hands into his pocket.

"Caroline asked you to babysit me didn't she?" Stefan asked.

"Something like that." Caleb said scratching the back of his head.

"I see you took to architecture rather well," Stefan commented. "Its really impressive what you've done to the place." Stefan told Caleb.

"Well, I had help," He said graciously.

"Is that a window?" Stefan asked looking confused. "Weird placement"

Caleb sighed. He hadn't heard that question in years and he was hoping never to be the receiving end of it.

"It's a… new… concept" Caleb said half heartedly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah it's a metaphorical eye," He paused, "Because eyes are a window to one's soul, so this window opens inward.. to the buildings soul" He said trying very hard not to roll his eyes at the words coming out of his mouth.

Stefan stared at him with a blank expression. "That's… umm. . . that's a thing now?"

"Yes, it's a thing, You know what, architecture, much like literally everything else on this planet has moved forward leaps and bounds since you were dead, I'll get you a book, you can catch up" The words tumbled out of his mouth rapidly, his irate disposition giving it a edge that did not go unnoticed.

Stefan's footsteps suddenly slowed down as they came in clear view of the doorway. He stared at it, his heart sinking further into the dark abyss the longer he looked. He had proposed to Caroline for the second time behind those doors. He was supposed to grow old with her, raise her kids and grandkids and prove to her everyday how much he loved her. He never got the chance to do any of it. And here he was over a lifetime later, trying to somehow sew the pieces of a life he had long ago ripped to shreds. What exactly was he hoping he would achieve, he wondered to himself.

Caleb took a deep breath. He thought he could do this, but turned out that he couldn't. No shame in admitting failure. Caroline would understand. Stefan staring at the spot where he proposed, much like how Caroline used to sit and look at it wistfully for hours, was the last straw. He needed to be far away from Stefan Salvatore or he'd be forced to wonder if his relationship with Caroline was in jeopardy.

"You wanna tell me what chaos brought Caroline to the dead?" Stefan asked before Caleb could excuse himself. No one had deemed it necessary for him to know what was going on. In the past few hours he noticed people going about with urgency, visibly worried. Something was brewing. He just didn't know what.

"Don't worry about it." Caleb said dismissively. "It has nothing to do with you or the Salvatore clan"

"Well Caroline is involved, which makes it everything to do with me" Stefan said slightly annoyed.

Caleb shook his head. "No it doesn't. You died. She's not your wife. She's not your fiancé or you girl friend. You don't get to walk around like she's yours to protect. Especially after how you left her broken."

"Look, I know it must have been hard for her, I'm in no way implying-"

"Hard? You have no idea." Caleb scoffed walking away.

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 _The winter sky had never before felt so cold or lonely as that day as she stood on the wide, empty roof, deathly still, an eerie silence about her. It felt like time had come to a stand still as thousands of stars bore witness to her grief, just as they did over a century ago, on a lonely highway as a bride bid farewell to her husband on her wedding day._

" _You're an optimist. You want to believe anything's possible" His words echoed in her head. Well, the universe sure showed her. Some things were just not meant to be, like her and Stefan having a modicum of happiness._

 _She shook her head. The tears where supposed to stop, that was the promise of time. Yet another promise laid waste by the universe._

 _Could he see her, she wondered. Did he want to?_

" _Caroline?" She heard Caleb enter the roof. "Come inside, its freezing out here" She could hear his teeth clatter in the cold. She didn't respond._

" _I'm sorry" She heard him sigh. "That was insensitive and disrespectful. I shouldn't have said anything. It's not my place. I don't know what came over me, but it wont happen again" He said sincerely._

" _Care?" He beckoned when she didn't respond._

" _You were not wrong" A coarse whisper escaped her, betraying her emotional state of upheaval._

" _Hey" He said reaching for her arm._

" _I need to let him go. I won't survive if I don't" She stuttered the words out as she looked at her wedding band._

" _I thought it would get better. It was supposed to get better" She wept, her voice accusatory almost at the powers that be._

 _Strong arms gripped her as she continued to lament her loss. "He was supposed to live. Grow old. Help me raise the girls and their kids," She wept as her grief threatened to choke the breath out of her. "He wasn't there when the girls graduated or when they got married or when their kids were born. He wasn't there for any of it. And I'm supposed to just let him go when I didn't even get a day with him" She was inconsolable._

" _I'm sorry" Caleb whispered as his own voice was consumed by the grief he felt for her. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." Was all he could muster._

" _Maybe if he had lived a human life I'd have been able to let him go knowing he finally got to live the life he wanted. But this . . ." She said shaking her head softly at the stars._

" _He's at peace," Caleb tried to console her. "He's no longer in pain. There's no more guilt. He's finally unburdened. That's not the worst thing, right?" He asked as blue eyes searched his for answers. "So let him go knowing he's okay. Let him go so you can be"_

" _I told him I'd love him forever" She wept._

" _And you will" Caleb said as he tried to wipe away her tears. "A part of you will always love him. Nothing's going to change that. But if you hold on to him so tight, you will drown."_

" _I know" She nodded as she tried in vain to steady her breathing._

 _She took a deep breath and reached for her ring._

" _Wait" Caleb stayed her hand. She looked at him perplexed at his sudden change in demeanor. "Favorite Stefan Salvatore memory" He asked her._

" _Take your time." He smiled back. "I imagine there are a lot many to choose from."_

 _She smiled; the tears felt lighter all of a sudden._

" _When he proposed. The first time." She said beaming. "He was so happy, he couldn't stop smiling." She said, her voice thick with tears._

" _And you?" He asked, "Were you happy?"_

" _Deliriously happy"_

" _Then that's how you're gonna remember him forever. Happy and smiling," He said clutching her face._

 _She nodded._

 _The stars eventually faded and gave way to light, but not before they saw her take the ring off, cry till she fell asleep and looked on as he carried her inside._

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 _ **7 years ago**_

" _You should go out" Caleb declared as the gang sat around cataloging the last warehouse full of books and artifacts._

" _Huh?" Caroline was barely listening._

" _We just went out yesterday", Alondra reminded him. She had joined them at the Armory a few years back, along with Josh, the last of the New Orleans clan._

" _Not like that" Caleb said._

" _Not like what?" Caroline asked._

" _You were Maya's wing man all night"_

" _So?"_

" _You're a wing man every night"_

" _I don't follow," Caroline said._

" _Maybe you should.. go on a date . . you know.. Get back out there"_

 _Caroline burst out laughing._

" _Something funny?"_

" _That ship has sailed buddy! I don't think it's happening again"_

" _Why? You some special kinda weird only Stefan Salvatore can love?" He asked feeling offended almost that she thought she couldn't find love again._

 _Caroline rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the artifact she had been perusing._

" _I could love you" Caleb blurted. "I mean. . . I'm just saying that lots of people could love you.. not all at once preferably,.. but you know, you are.. not.. unlovable. At all. You are very likeable and lovable. If that's why you think .. that the ship has sailed." He could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow line._

" _Please stop talking" Alondra whispered._

" _I just meant you shouldn't close yourself off to new possibilities" he said as he got up and left so he wouldn't embarrass himself further._

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

" _Need some help?" Caroline asked Caleb as he cleaned up after the party they had just had in their newly decorated living space. The Armory would be run by supernaturals from here on out, so it made sense to have a wing dedicated to living spaces. Supernaturals were known to be nomads after all._

" _Done packing?" He asked trying his best to sound casual._

" _Almost" She said._

" _Will you come back?" He asked._

" _Umm. I hope so. will you be here?"_

" _Yeah. I plan to stick around for a while at least"_

" _Wow! Putting down roots. Not something you do usually"_

" _I guess there's a first time for everything" He said softly. "Did you decide your first stop?"_

" _Amsterdam" She said confidently._

" _Good choice" He said nodding slightly. "Look, uh, wherever you go, if you need anything, you let me know okay? I have friends in almost every corner of the globe. So…"_

" _I think I should be fine"_

" _Yeah you will.." He said inching closer to her involuntarily._

" _Maya will miss having you as a wing man though" He said light heartedly._

 _Caroline chuckled softly._

" _And uh.. I think I saw Josh cry when you said you were leaving," He teased._

 _Caroline pouted to feign sadness._

" _Alondra… she.. uh.. will miss her TV show buddy" He said standing inches away from her._

" _And I,." He said looking into the blue orbs he had gone accustomed to seeing everyday for years now. He knew he had feelings for her. May even be in love with her. But she was so guarded that he couldn't be sure if he felt anything for him._

" _You?" She asked; eyes wide in anticipation._

 _He leaned forward and kissed her without warning. He felt her breath hitch as he took her lips in his. He pulled away softly, hands still holding her waist, unsure as to what her reaction would be._

" _I had to," he murmured. "If I didn't, I would have regretted it probably forever and I don't like regrets." He explained himself_

 _Her forehead creased ever so slightly._

" _Are you mad?" He asked, heart beginning to pound loudly in his chest. What if she never spoke to him ever again?_

 _He paused to give her a minute to process._

" _Say something?" He begged._

 _She lunged forward and kissed him back. He smiled as their kiss deepened._

 _. . . . . . ._

" _Caroline?" He whispered into her ear as he held her tight._

" _Hmmm" She was half asleep in his arms._

" _I'd really like it if you didn't leave"_

 _She turned around to face him. He looked nervous._

" _Sounds like a plan" she smiled._

 _He smiled and leaned in to kiss her._

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

"Hey" He greeted her the moment her eyes opened.

She sighed.

"I had a bottle ready. Figured you'd be nostalgic and upset after seeing Stefan up there. We were going to commiserate and you were gonna feel better and I was going to crack one of those stupid jokes with the angel reference, you know, about whether it hurt when you fell down from heaven?"

She snorted a laugh despite the situation.

"You okay?" He asked softly.

"I don't know," She mumbled. "Save the bottle." She said climbing out of bed.

She grabbed a jacked from the closet.

"Maybe you should wait till morning?" He suggested. Was it out of concern or jealousy? He couldn't tell. Maybe it was both.

"No I should see him now" She said heading to the door. "Don't wait up. I'll wake you if I need you" she said as she closed the door behind her.

. . . .

He couldn't bring himself to sleep. What if he woke up and he wasn't really here and this was all just a dream. It would feel right only after he met her. He would hold her and he'd know that he was alive.

He sighed. Emotions were dulled so to speak when he was at peace. Peace being the primary feeling for everyone and any feeling that was contradictory to peace was shut down rather effectively. They just didn't feel it. So it was quite the contrast when he came alive, similar to flipping ones humanity switch, but not quite the same, just the closest comparison he could think of. The rush of emotion was something he was still grappling with. It had only been half a day since he came back to life after all. In a span of hours he felt pain, sorrow, loneliness, anger, jealousy, hate, love –

"Stefan?" he heard Caroline knock at his door. And suddenly, he was home.

He leaped to open the door and engulfed her in his arms.

"You're okay" he sighed in relief. He felt her hug him tighter. Everything he had been feeling since he came back to life felt worth it. She was here. She was safe.

She broke the hug after what felt like an eternity.

They were both crying and trying to console each other at the same time.

"This isn't working" she laughed in between a sob, referring to their attempt to calm each other's tears away. He closed his eyes and brought his forehead to hers and took a deep breath. He felt her fists tighten against his shirt.

"I cant believe you're actually here," Caroline said finally as she gathered herself. Her voice felt so small and distant, like that of a frightened child, lost and alone in the world.

He exhaled sharply. "I'm not sure I believe it either," He said not taking his eyes off her. What if he blinked and she disappeared. The universe had never been known to be kind to them; why would things be any different now.

"This must be weird for you. . . how are you?" She asked full of concern. His heart sweet ten fold. Two lifetimes later and she was still the same Caroline, how he longed to kiss her and tell her he would be perfect as long as she was with him.

"Overwhelmed" He said.

"Is there something I can do?"

He smiled and placed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Good overwhelmed" he reassured her.

She smiled slightly.

"I know me being here complicates things for you" He said. He yearned to talk to her. He wanted to talk all night and all day and then some, till there he was all caught up with her life and she knew for a fact that he was here on Earth for her.

"It doesn't have to be complicated" She said softly.

Stefan's forehead creased as Caroline stepped back.

"Listen to me" She said as she took his hand and sat at the edge of the bed. Stefan followed suit.

"You remember when you turned human and I told you that you needed to figure out who you were and what you were going to do?"

"Yeah" Stefan said hesitantly, unsure of where this was going.

"Well, you never got the chance to back then, but you do now." She said sounding hopeful. "And things are different from last time. Better in fact. You don't have your past weighing you down. You already paid your dues. No guilt, nothing to atone for. No attachments to consider."

"Well, I wouldn't say no attachments" He said feeling hurt that she would say it.

"Stefan, it's like you never were a vampire. This is a clean slate. A reset. Something people wish they could have, but never get. And you have it. A chance to live the human life you have always wanted without any of the supernatural baggage you've had to carry for most of your life. The cure is not in your system so you don't have to sorry about someone taking it out and you dying. You can be what you want to be, live where you want to live, find the perfect girl, get married, have kids, watch them grow-"

"Caroline, stop" He said grabbing her hands. This was not what he came back to life for.

"Stefan, this is a miracle. Don't let it go to waste."

"What about you? Where are you in this life I'm supposed to want?" He asked feeling dejected.

"I don't know. Depends on how much supernatural influence you want in your life I suppose" She replied.

He shook his head.

"Just think about it," She begged. "And whatever you decide to do, we will help you in every way possible"

 _WE_

 _He hated that word._

Truth was that he didn't need to think about it. He wasn't confused or conflicted. He knew what he wanted and it had everything to do with her and nothing to do with a life that didn't include her.

"I should go, it's really late" she said getting up to leave.

"Talk in the morning?" He asked.

"Of course"

"Caroline" He called out to her while grabbing her hand. He hated watching her leave. She stopped at her tracks and looked at him with anticipation.

 _I love you._

 _You're the reason I'm here._

 _I don't want you to leave._

"Good night" He said softly.

"Good Night, Stefan."

. . . . . .

"You're still up" Caroline commented as she entered the room.

"Well? What's the verdict?" Caleb asked looking down.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Look, I know this must be hard for you, having him back. I'll understand if you want me to step back, give you space"

"Yeah? You'd do that?" Caroline asked moving close to him.

"Yeah, I would" He said hugging her lightly.

"Well, I'd really like it if you didn't leave" She said softly.

He smiled. She leaned in for a kiss; he didn't hesitate.

 _ **. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**_ **. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .** _ **. . .**_ **. . . . . . . . . . . .** _ **. . .**_ **. . . . . . . . . . . .**

 _ **A/N: Caleb and Caroline's history was necessary for the story. Sorry it took up so much space. But you wouldn't be caught up effectively with Caroline's life without Stefan and Caleb's significance in her life had I not explained it in so many words.**_

 _ **This is primarily a Caroline Forbes fanfic, so her character will take prominence over canon ships.**_

 _ **For Steroline fans – next chapter will be Steroline heavy, with flashbacks and present day conversations about their potential future.**_

 _ **Rest assured, they are both at very different places right now emotionally, so it won't exactly be the smoothest ride.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading. I'll update sometime next week.**_


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